suitcase love

i love old suitcases. i think it’s because of the well travelled look of them. there is such an air of mystery – where have they been and what have they seen? what have they been used for; have they been put to good use or left languishing in a cupboard or under a bed?

i came across these photos the other day – old suitcases given a new lease of life. part of me loved the idea and part of me hated it. loved it because they were still being used – someone had been creative. repurposed they had a new lease of life  and would live on for many years to come. hated it because their travelling days were over, they were now domiciled in one place, no more to roam. they will still have adventures but they will be the domestic kind which never conjure up the same magic and mystery as a life on the road. but the flip side of that is they will be loved and treated kindly, looked on as a part of someones daily life and enjoyed in a whole new way.

here’s the website and a couple of the images to fire up your curiousity. http://theclothspring.com/2011/11/re-purposed-suitcases/

“diy” it’s in our “dna”

the urge to create is something that is an innate part of being human. its one of the things i love most about people. everyone has it, everyone does it!

here in new zealand we have a saying “diy it’s in our dna”. we are known as a nation of people who love to “do it yourself”, sadly that creativity has been slowly eroded and attacked over the years. sometimes for good reasons sometimes for sad reasons. local body laws mean that you can’t just whack an extension onto your house without the proper tradespeople and inspectors to make sure you do things according to ‘spec’. while this is a safety thing sometimes they go too far and the red tape means you get a two inch thick folder of paperwork in order to do anything. but i better not digress too far here.

diy – i love that term – do it yourself! It’s the kiwi mantra or was. nowdays though so many people have lost their ability to do it themselves and experts are called in for things that used to be dads or mums domain. its not always true that the new way is the best way. but there is a quiet revolution underway and people are beginning to get back to wanting to ‘get their hands dirty’ doing stuff themselves.

crafts of all sorts are on the rise again from crochet to woodwork and families are once again going to be the richer as things that are created get passed down the the next generation. my daughter is learing to sew and has been creating for herself and her friends. my son has got his ‘shed’ where all sorts of creating happens – usually with blowtorch and screeching metal. and i am happy!

to know the next generation will get their hands dirty, their hearts satisfied and have fun as they create gives me great joy. all is well and another generation  knows the pleasure of diy!

a couple of photos of my kids creativity for you to enjoy –

dans steampunk goggles

tanya's playhouse - made for a friend

the woodcutters daughter

creativity runs rampant in our family and we usually have something on the go. at the moment it is all about christmas but that’s for another day. a while ago my son went through a stencil art phase no doubt inspired by Banksy to start with but then he deveoped his own style. he created a painting for his wife which i loved so he did me my own version on an old suitcase. its called “the woodcutters daughter”. i now have a computer case that is unlike any other and I love it.

The Woodcutters Daughter

Free the creative you!

Creativity is such a wonderful part of being a human – animals don’t have it, fish don’t have it! Nothing else that was created has the gift of creativity except humans. The sad thing is a lot of people don’t believe they are creative. I have eight sisters and brothers – everyone of them is creative in many different ways, they write, paint, sculpt, do woodturning and more. Yet there is one of them who feels she was left out of the creative gene pool. She looks at the rest of us and makes comments like “you guys are all so creative and I’m so not”. The crazy thing is she knits wonderful things (sometimes without even using a pattern) and makes amazing beadwork jewelery and artworks. But because she has to use a pattern she thinks that disqualifies her from being creative. It doesn’t!

Creativity is not about using a pattern or not using a pattern. Creativity is about making something. It’s about taking a substance and turning it into something that expresses and satisfies the creative urge within you.

You are made in the image of the Creator – you were given a part of him that is unique to humanity – the urge and ability to create. Make sure you place a high value on your creativity – after all no one else can express your creativity. Only you can do that and without your creative voice the world is a less rich.

“It is the creative potential itself in human beings that is the image of God.” – Mary Daly

“Unless we are creators, we are not fully alive” – Madeleine L’Engle